World Health Organisation

Region’s leaders gather virtually to tackle COVID-19 and other health issues

 The seventy-first session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific is being held online from 6 to 9 October 2020. On the opening day, WHO briefed countries on the COVID-19 situation in the Region and our work to support responses. Delegates shared updates on the current situation and needs.

Two million deaths 'very likely' even with vaccine, WHO warns

Dr Mike Ryan, the WHO's emergencies head, said the figure could be higher without concerted international action.

Almost one million people have died with Covid-19 worldwide since the disease first emerged in China late last year.

Virus infections continue to rise, with 32 million cases confirmed globally.

The start of a second surge of coronavirus infections has been seen in many countries in the northern hemisphere as winter approaches.

So far, the US, India and Brazil have confirmed the most cases, recording more than 15 million between them.

WHO reports record global rise in COVID-19 cases

The biggest increases were from the United States, Brazil, India and South Africa, according to a daily report on Sunday.

The previous WHO record for new cases was 228,102 on July 10.

Deaths remained steady at about 5000 a day.

Global coronavirus cases were approaching 13 million on Sunday, according to a Reuters tally, marking another milestone in the spread of the disease that has killed more than 565,000 people in seven months.

WHO reports record daily increase in coronavirus cases

The biggest increase was from North and South America with over 116,000 new cases, according to a daily report here Total global cases are over 8.7 million with more than 461,000 deaths, according to the WHO.

The previous record for new cases was 181,232 on 18 June

     

WHO advises to wear masks in public areas

The global body said new information showed they could provide "a barrier for potentially infectious droplets".

Some countries around the world already recommend or mandate the wearing of face coverings in public.

The WHO had previously argued there was not enough evidence to say that healthy people should wear masks.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead expert on Covid-19, told Reuters news agency the recommendation was for people to wear a "fabric mask - that is, a non-medical mask".

WHO suspends trials of hydroxychloroquine

Trials in several countries are being "temporarily" suspended as a precaution.

It comes after a recent medical study suggested the drug could increase the risk of patients dying from Covid-19.

US President Donald Trump has promoted the anti-malarial drug, despite warnings from public health officials that it could cause heart problems in Covid-19 patients.

Trump also said he was taking the drug himself to ward off the virus, but said in Sunday he was not taking it any more.

 

     

Testing, tracing, and when to lift restrictions: WHO’s latest advice

He stressed that a mix of social distancing, testing, contact tracing and isolation, will be crucial to further curb the spread of the new coronavirus already devastating much of the globe. 

“We’re all learning all the time and adjusting our strategy, based on the latest available evidence”, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, summarising the guidance which will be available in full on the agency’s website on Tuesday.   

WHO and UNICEF to partner on pandemic response through COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund

The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund has been set up to facilitate an unprecedented global response by supporting the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan. As part of the agreement, an initial portion of the money from the Fund – which currently stands at more than $127 million – will flow to UNICEF for its work with vulnerable children and communities all over the world.

WHO guidelines help countries maintain essential health services during COVID-19 pandemic

The rapidly increasing demand on health facilities and health care workers threatens to leave some health systems overstretched and unable to operate effectively.

Previous outbreaks have demonstrated that when health systems are overwhelmed, mortality from vaccine-preventable and other treatable conditions can also increase dramatically. During the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak, the increased number of deaths caused by measles, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis attributable to health system failures exceeded deaths from Ebola [1,2]. 

Why Taiwan has become a problem for WHO

But despite its efforts, it is still effectively locked out of membership in the World Health Organization (WHO) due to its complex relationship with China.

This all exploded over the weekend when a top WHO official appeared to avoid questions about Taiwan in a TV interview that has gone viral, attracting criticism and even accusations of bias.

What happened?

On Saturday, Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK aired an interview with Bruce Aylward, the WHO assistant director-general, who spoke to journalist Yvonne Tong on a video call.